Of Misadventures and Being Family
by Row93
Summary: Twins Jacob and Evie Frye always have each other's backs, even if it doesn't always seem like they do. This will be a series of one-shots that are spoiler free.
1. Of Promises and Sick Days

The rain is still pouring down as Evie gets on their train late in the evening. After a long day of meeting up with Henry Green's contacts throughout the city the only thing she is looking forward to is a warm meal and a comfortable bed. A quick glance around the carriage that's used as common room confirms that her twin brother has not yet returned as she sits down at an empty table and removes her drenched hood. The fire crackling in the hearth finally brings back some warmth in het ice cold fingers and the friendly chatter that is surrounding her from the some of Rooks that are present lightens up her mood a little.

The endless rain notwithstanding, is has been a productive day for her. Now her only hope is that Jacob has been successful in his errand as well. Speaking of which, now that she thinks about it, it's kind of odd that her brother is not on the train yet. Normally he would be waiting for her by now to share a meal and tell her about his day in detail before heading of again and gallivanting around London with his Rooks. As she casts a look around again, the only familiar person she sees is little Clara O'Dea who has just entered the carriage from the study at the middle of the train. As soon as the girl notices Evie she bounds over to her table.

"Evie!" she skits to a stop, "Have you seen Jacob? He promised me to teach me how to throw knives."

Evie rolls her eyes. It's typical of her bother to try and teach such violent things to a little girl, not for a second thinking about how it's not particularly safe to have a child handle knives. But Clara's question does raise a question of her own. If Jacob promised to be here tonight, where is he?

"I haven't seen him, Clara. In fact I was hoping that you would know where he is."

The sullen look on Clara's face clashes with her earlier business like tone and for a moment Evie is tempted to offer her to teach her to throw knives herself. But before she can console the girl the door of the carriage is thrown open and her twin brother, cocky as ever, comes barging in.

He spots them immediately and strides over to their table, throwing his soaking wet top head on the table before grabbing a seat.

"Good evening ladies." he says with a grin, extracting a giggle from Clara and laughter from some of the Rooks.

Evie studies him for a moment. His clothes are soaked through leaving a small puddle under his chair. His dark hair is in it's usual disheveled state but his cheeks seem rather pale today, but that might just be from being out in the freezing rain all day.

"Evening brother." she greets, "How was your day?"

"Ah, it was great!" he says, "I managed to get the location of another gang leader."

And with that Jacob launches into a detailed description of his, rather violent, interrogation with one of Starrick's goons. Evie tries to gesture discreetly with her head at Clara, to clarify to him that the young girl doesn't need to hear all the gruesome details, but her subtlety is lost on him.

Clara listens with great interest while patiently waiting for an opening in his story to remind him about the promised lessons. And as soon as Jacob pauses his story to take a breath she takes her chance.

"When are we starting my knife throwing lessons?"

Jacob gives Clara a bewildered look for a second and then seeks eye contact with his twin sister. The questioning look on his face tells her that he has obviously forgotten all about his promise.

"Yes Jacob, when are her lessons starting?" she tells him with a cheeky grin.

The look she receives from him in return could not have been more satisfying.

"Uhm, yes. Well..."

Again he looks at Evie with pleading eyes, but she's not about to help him out of this predicament. He sighs before turning his attention the eagerly waiting girl again.

"I can't tonight, Clara. I'm sorry."

The look on the girl's face is heartbreaking. That should teach him to remember his promises. But Clara wouldn't be Clara if she couldn't twist the situation in her favor.

"It's alright." she says, and the familiar glint is back in her eyes, "But tomorrow I not only expect a knife throwing lesson, but a fighting lesson as well."

With that she turns around and strides away before Jacob can give her any sort of response.

"Why, that cheeky little mouse." he mutters and Evie can't contain her grin anymore.

"So what are you up to tonight?" she asks as he finishes throwing glaring looks at the door Clara just disappeared behind.

"I found out that there will be a meeting with several of the men on Starrick's payroll tonight. I intend to get all the information I can get from that meeting." he tells her, his eyes already lighting up at the prospect.

"You not going out in this weather again, are you?"

Her own clothes have finally started to dry a little and she can't imagine going out into the rain willingly for a second time. Not when they can afford themselves a night of rest.

"Well, how else am I going to eavesdrop on that meeting?" Jacob responds and he rolls his eyes, "I promise I will be discreet. Just listening."

"You better be." she tells him as she gets up from the table. Let him do whatever he wants, she's going for a hot cup of tea now and a change of clothes.

"When am I not?" her brothers says and he has to nerve to actually look disgraced.

Instead of answering the question, Evie pats her twin on the shoulder and walks away.

* * *

When Evie gets back to their train the next day after running several errands she is quite surprised to see Jacob's top hat and coat still hanging on a peg. The morning is already drawing to a close and she would have expected him to be up at least by now. Last night she only woke for a moment when he came stumbling in before falling asleep again. But she does remember that it was not that late when he returned.

Time to wake him up then. A task she is not looking forward to. Jacob can be in a notoriously bad mood when he doesn't wake up voluntarily.

As soon as Evie enters the study, she's taken aback by the musty smell that's hanging in the room. Since there is only one bed on the train, Henry immediately offered it to her to give her a little sense of privacy, seeing that he has his own rooms at the curio shop. With not much of a choice Jacob has taken up the couch in the study. The room is full of papers and other mess but he doesn't seem to be bothered by it though, since he's still asleep on his couch.

Sidestepping several piles of books she reaches one of the small windows and with vigour pulls the curtains open, exciting a groan from her brother as the bright sunlight streams in.

"Fuck off, Evie." His muffled voice doesn't sound pleased at all.

She turns and looks at him. He has his blankets drawn over his head almost entirely and the only thing visible is his mop of messy hair as his face is pressed into his pillow.

"It's almost midday already." Evie says calmly, ignoring his rudeness, "Did you have too much to drink again last night?"

When Jacob hangs out with his Rooks he has a tendency to consume too much alcohol to her liking.

He mumbles something she can't quite catch.

"I'm sorry?"

With obviously a lot of effort Jacob raises his head from his pillow and looks at her, "I didn't drink anything." he croaks out.

For a second time Evie is taken aback, but this time because her twin brother looks absolutely horrible. His cheeks are flushed and his eyes are puffy and glazed. Sweat is beading on his forehead and his sleep shirt looks sweaty as well.

"You look terrible." Evie says, feeling sorry now that she has woke him up, while he's clearly sick.

"Thank you. I feel terrible." he responds, his voice all stuffed. He lets his head fall back on his pillow with a long suffering sigh.

Evie walks to him and places a hand on his forehead that Jacob tries to swat away in vain.

"I think you have a fever." she sighs, "Do I need to say 'I told you so'?"

"No thank you. I get it now. Go away and leave me to die here." with that he pulls up his blankets over his head again, while groaning almost continuously.

"You're pathetic. I'm going to make you some tea." she picks up a relatively clean shirt and throws it on top of her brother, "And you are going to put on a clean shirt and use my bed. You need rest."

"Oh, now I'm allowed to sleep in the bed." He says sarcastically but slowly gets up anyway to make his way to her bedroom on wobbly legs.

When she gets back in the room Jacob has just mustered the energy to struggle out of his sweaty shirt. He looks up as he notices her coming in and gives her a glare. That does not really come across as angry as he hoped due to his groggy eyes.

"Don't you dare to ask me if I need help."

Evie puts down the tea on the bedside table and raises her hands in surrender.

"I'm not saying anything."

"But you were thinking it." Jacob says as he finally manages to get out of his dirty shirt and into the clean one. His little walk seems to have taken up all his energy because he lies down on the bed with another excruciating groan and pulls the covers over his shivering body.

"Come on." Evie says, her voice more gentle now, "Drink your tea. You'll feel better once you have something in your stomach."

"I doubt that."

But he struggles into a sitting position anyway and takes the cup from his sister's hands. Evie watches him and shakes her head. Jacob doesn't get sick that often, but when he does he's always all in.

And then he's suddenly sitting suspiciously still, with a pained look on his face, the empty tea cup still in his hands.

"You're not going to throw up are you?"

He looks at her with a pleading expression and just in time Evie manages to snatch an old wooden bucket from the floor and throw it in his lap.

When Jacob is finished emptying the meagre contents of his stomach, she takes the bucket away from him.

"Alright, I guess the tea didn't make you feel better." She says, but Jacob is too exhausted to respond to her quip. He just lies down again and closes his eyes.

After cleaning the bucket and getting her brother some water to rinse his mouth she sits down in her armchair with a book. Jacob is looking at her through half lidded eyes, clearly struggling to stay awake.

"You just sleep," she tells him quietly, "I'll be right here."

"Thanks, sister." Jacob mumbles then closes his eyes and drifts of to sleep.

* * *

Hours later, when Evie has spend her time studying maps and planning their next moves while keeping an eye on her brother, she hears movement again from the bedroom.

Then a loud crash and something that sounds a lot like swearing. Before she can get up the door opens and Jacob comes shuffling into their study, the bed covers tightly wrapped around him. He still looks like he could fall over any minute, but the fact that he's (trying) to stand up means he must feel a little better.

"Back to the land of the living?" she greets him, "What was that crash?"

He looks at her blankly for a moment, then seems to remember.

"I almost had an intimate meeting with your rug, thanks to a bucket." He says, before going into a coughing fit that makes him sway on his feet. Evie grabs him by the arm and guides him to the couch.

"Sit down, before you fall down."

Jacob sinks down on the couch and lays his head on the armrest, still cocooned in his blankets, the cool fabric of the couch soothing his headache.

"Why did you get out of bed?" Evie asks him with a sigh, Jacob can be such a trial when he's sick.

"Bed is boring." he says, sounding like a little child. What if his Rooks could hear him now? She would love to see that. She knows that there are some gang members hanging out in the next carriage, she's got half a mind to get them just to teach her brother a lesson.

"Yes. But this is not helping you get better." she says instead, getting up to manoeuvre the covers that have slid down from the couch back over his bare feet again.

"Oh, so you do care about my actions." The tone he's using tells her that he doesn't actually mean his words.

"Of course I care about you." she says, "You're my twin." she ruffles his hair and he pulls back his head in annoyance. He never did like to be treated like the little brother, even if she's only four minutes older.

Their bickering is interrupted in the form of Clara O'Dea coming in, who's obviously in search of someone who promised her lessons. When she notices Jacob's sniffling form on the couch her face falls.

"Are you sick?" she asks, poking him in the shoulder.

Jacob gives her an annoyed look.

"No, I'm just laying here for my own amusement."

Evie chuckles as Clara rolls her eyes at his sarcasm. The girl studies her brother for a moment, then pokes him in the shoulder again.

"You know," she says, "You are terrible at keeping promises."

Seeing the disgruntled look on Jacob's face, Evie decides to humour Clara.

"Tell me about it." she tells the girl, then turns her attention to her brother, "Remember that time you promised me to catch the cat?"

Jacob groans, and tries to bury his head under his covers, "Are you still not over that?" his muffled voice comes out.

"What happened?" Clara asks, her interest immediately piqued.

Jacob's head reappears and gives Evie a pleading look that clearly says 'please don't tell her', but she's having way too much fun messing with him.

"I wanted to conduct an experiment, and Jacob promised to help me." she starts, but Jacob interrupts her.

"She read in a book that cats always land on all fours, so she climbed a tree with a cat in one hand." he coughs, then regains his voice, "She was going to throw it out of the tree and I was supposed to catch it just in case."

"But you never did." Evie says, throwing him a heated glare.

"We were six years old!"

Clara doubles over in laughter and by the time she manages to pull herself together again, tears are streaming down her face. Even Jacob in his miserable state manages a chuckle at the sight of her.

"What happened to the cat?" Clara asks, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"He ended up with a bloody nose and our grandmother never allowed us to play with him again." Evie says. She never forgave Jacob for that, losing her favourite subject of her experiments.

Jacob looks at Clara with his glassy eyes, "But I'm really sorry about not keeping my promise again."

"Well I suppose being sick isn't really your fault." the girl says, "So I forgive you this time."

Jacob gives Evie a triumphant look, who rolls her eyes at him.

As she turns around to gather her papers she can feel Jacob following her with his eyes.

"So now that you two have made your peace with one another, I'm sure I can leave you in the capable hands of each other for a while can I?" She turns around again to look between Clara and Jacob, who both look a bit confused, "I have a meeting with Mr. Green."

Clara seems to get the idea and grins, "Of course I can take care of Jacob!"

"Thank you." Evie says as she squeezes the girl's shoulder, then looks at her brother, "I'll be back in a few hours, don't do anything stupid."

As she leaves the train Clara and Jacob are already bickering behind her.

* * *

A few days later the first thing Jacob notices when he wakes up in the afternoon, is that it is afternoon. Which means Evie has not come to wake him up. That is not necessarily a strange thing because usually she only wakes him up when he's sleeping too long to her liking. So why did she not wake him up today? As he looks around the study he sees that her books are still lying unopened and that her coat is hanging on the peg. Time to figure out what's going on.

He gets up from the couch and on his bare feet he makes his way to Evie's carriage. Carefully he knocks on the door.

"Evie?" he listens for any sign that his twin sister is in there. It has taken him a while to remember to knock on her door before entering, and he's sort of proud that he remembers it this time.

At first he doesn't hear anything but then there's the sound of covers rustling, so he opens the doors and walks in.

Evie is still in bed, attempting to sit up. Her long hair, loose from her usual braids is hanging in tangles around her face. She looks at him with bleary eyes, her cheeks unusually flushed looking quite confused.

"What time is it?" her voice sounds all congested.

Jacob chuckles, "Time for you to stay in bed and for me to return the favour, dear sister."

* * *

I kinda started writing this before the game came out and afterwards made some changes so it would fit better. I hope I was able to keep everyone in character.

It hasn't been checked, so forgive me for any mistakes.

The story the twins are telling Clara is actually something my brother and I did (!). Although I was about 8 or 9 years old and my brother 3 years younger. He still claims the cat fell on his head (which is not true). Just so you know, the cat survived ;)


	2. Of Bar Brawls and Self Defence

"How is it that you always pick out the grimmest looking pubs, Jacob?"

Jacob looks at his sister with an innocent face.

"Grim? What do you mean grim?" he looks around, "I call this alive."

They are being surround by men from the working class, and now that Jacob takes a good look around he notices that aren't any women present at the moment and neither are there any people from the more richer districts.

Actually the mood is not the best either. It's been payday for most of the people and under Starrick's rule it's not much. In an effort to forget their troubles, most of the men present try to drink them away.

"All right, maybe not alive." he shrugs, "But at least it's a change from the train."

They're meeting up with several of their Rook lieutenants to talk about their plans. But since Jacob and Evie arrived a bit early they're the only ones yet. In Jacob's eyes, that leaves more time for drinking. So he gets up.

"You want a drink?" he asks his sister, who shakes her head at him. He shouldn't have asked. Evie never drinks if she's 'on duty'. He however, does not have a problem with it. And the beer in this place is pretty good he has discovered.

When he sits down again with his pint, Evie is looking at him with disapproving eyes.

"What?"

She gestures at his drink, "How can you be a good example of leadership to the Rooks if you're drunk at every meeting?" she asks with a sharp tone.

"Evie. When have you ever seen me drunk at a meeting?" he asks her sharply in return, "I may do stupid things from time to time, but I'm not a drunk."

Her eyes soften.

"Alright, apologies." she says, "Now that I think about it, it's true that you're seldom drunk."

He lifts his pint at her.

"Thank you, sister."

Seeing the look on Evie's face he knows that she's not done yet.

"But you are a thick head sometimes."

And there you have it.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asks, giving her a disgraced look.

"Thinking more with your fists than your brain."

She has a point there. He does have a tendency to fight first and ask questions later. Which doesn't really work most of the time. Secrecy and sneaking have never been his strong suit. He mostly prefers a more direct approach. But he's not about to let Evie win this argument. Losing has never been his strong suit either.

"Like you've never done that."

Evie throws a glare at him, "Name one situation where I didn't try to solve a problem with words first."

A challenge. He likes those, "Oh, I'll think of something." he tells her with a grin, "But I've gotta hit the John first."

* * *

As soon as Jacob leaves the common room some of the men around Evie cease their talking and start staring. And then they start pointing at her. That's not something she's a stranger to, she's getting looks often just because she refuses to wear dresses (those are just not practical for running over rooftops), but the sort of attention these rather gritty looking men are giving her is not of that kind.

Oh good, and now one of them is coming over to her table. It's a man clearly older than herself and he not the most clean person. His hair looks greasy and as soon as he starts talking the foul smell of beer and dirty teeth reaches her nose.

"Afternoon, beautiful."

Why is she always the one who gets this sort of attention? Guess it's her own fault this time though, she should have insisted to find another pub.

Evie gives the man a bored look.

"Whatever you want, I'm not interested." she tells him then turns around in her chair to emphasise her point.

But the man is not giving up that easily.

"Oh, but I am interested in you, love." he says then grabs her hand and fondles it.

Evie looks at her hand and then to into the man's eyes, "You have three seconds to let go, or I'll show you how lovely I am."

The calmness in her voice and venom in her eyes seem to have the desired effect on him, because he let's go and raises his arms in the air in surrender.

"As you wish."

Then he looks over his shoulder and gestures for his two mates, who get up immediately and walk up to them.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Murray?" one of them asks.

And the man whose name is apparently Murray looks at Evie with a sinister smile playing around his lips.

"I don't know, you tell me, miss?" at her refusal of giving her name he continues, "Are you going to come with us quietly before your brother returns to defend you? Or do we need to make an example out of him, so you see what happens if you don't listen to me?"

Murray's threats have no effect on her as she smiles sweetly in return. Oh how they have picked the wrong lady to mess with tonight.

"Whatever makes you think I need my brother to defend me?" she asks extracting a chuckle from his mates.

Murray is done playing games however. But so is she. As he tries to reach out to her again Evie grabs Jacob's empty pint and slams it onto his hand with enough force to break at least a finger, before swinging her fist full into his jaw.

* * *

As soon as Jacob enters the common room of the pub again he has to duck to avoid a glass sailing right at his face. All around him the patrons are busy smashing each other's brains in and in the middle of the chaos and flying furniture he sees his sister punching a particularly nasty looking man right in the gut.

He only has a second to wonder about how the situation was able to escalate so quickly in his absence before some moron aims an empty bottle at his head and he's forced to defend himself.

With a laugh he throws himself into the bar brawl throwing punches and countering swings as goes, making his way to Evie who has just managed to knock out the man she was fighting.

"What was that you said about solving problems with words?" he says, avoiding another badly thrown punch.

Evie rolls his eyes at him, "Shut UP!" at the same time the words leave her mouth she kicks the legs out from under another guy before hitting him full in the face with a mug she grabs from a table.

She turns around so that they are back to back, surrounded by more than twelve men who are eager to let all their bottled up frustrations loose.

"What did you do?!" he has to yell to be heard over all the noise.

The grunt coming from over his shoulder tells him that his sister has disposed of another guy.

"These bloody idiots! " more bone breaking sounds, "Were sexually harassing me!"

That's all Jacob needs to hear to let his restraint go. With a roar he slams his fists into a nose on his left and grabs a guy on his right by his arms before kneeing him in the gut. He takes two more down before throwing another look over his shoulder so see how Evie is doing.

She making excellent progress with knocking people out and with a satisfied grin he focuses on the big brute that's coming right at him with a barstool raised above his head.

"Where are your Rooks, when we really need them!" Evie yells over all the commotion, while simultaneously diving the left to avoid the barstool flying at the both of them.

Before he can even respond the door to the pub flies open and several of his Rooks walk in, ready to fight.

Not that they have assistance it doesn't take long before the floor of the pub is littered with groaning men and there's no one left standing except Jacob, Evie and their Rooks.

"Well, that was an excellent fight!" Jacobs grins, but as he turns around he sees his sister looking around like she's searching for something.

She seems to have found it because she walking over to one man who has managed to drag himself into a sitting position against the bar, a large bruise blossoming on his jaw.

"Mr. Murray." Evie addresses him in a sweet voice, "My name is Evie Frye." then she gestures at Jacob, "And this is my brother, Jacob."

Then she looks at Jacob and her expression tells him all he needs to know. This is the guy who started it, and he just got Evie's permission to do whatever he wants with him.

As Evie walks out with some of the Rooks, he makes his way to this 'Mr. Murray'. The man looks at him with a pitiful expression as he towers over him.

"Mr. Murray." he starts, then cracks his fingers, "Don't mess with my twin sister _ever_ again."

And with one strike to the temple he knocks the guy unconscious.

* * *

"So if I understand it correctly, it was Miss Frye who started the fight?"

Jacob snorts at the surprise and unbelief in Henry Green's voice. Next to him Evie shifts uncomfortably. Of course it didn't take long before news of their bar brawl had reached their fellow assassin.

"Well, yes." Evie says, "But I assure you, I had a good reason."

Henry looks at both of them sitting on the couch in the train, shaking his head in unbelief.

"I can hardly believe that your brother had no part in this." he says.

"Hey," Jacobs says innocently, "For me it was just self defence."

"Alright, now I am curious. Tell me story from the beginning."


	3. Of Birthdays and Sibling Rivalry

Today is the ninth of November. A normal day to others, but a day that always has a dark and light side to it for the Frye twins. On the one hand it's their birthday. Their twenty first to be exact, and the first one they will be celebrating in London instead of Crawley. On the other hand it will always be the day on which they lost their mother. It's not like Evie and her brother had a bad childhood. On the contrary, she has always felt loved by the family around her. First their grandmother and later on their father on his own, though Jacob may have a slightly different opinion on that. But still, if she looks around, seeing the mothers with their children on the streets, she tends to feel a sting of jealousy. Because she will never know what it feels like. But that is something Evie doesn't like to dwell on.

Better to focus on the task at hand, picking up her gift for Jacob. It has taken her a while to think of the perfect gift and find a craftsman good enough to give shape to her idea. But she found one, and now she can't wait to see the end result.

It's autumn and there's a thick mist hanging in the streets of London. It makes everything look gloomy and cold, and Evie has a hard time locating the shop she's only been to once before. But afterwards as she steps outside again, she's in a better mood. Her gift has turned out perfect, and she can already imagine her brother's face as he's opening it.

Now to return to the train and hide her gift, before meeting up with Jacob to seek out an informant that Henry Green has pointed them at. They haven't told anyone that today is their birthday. It's not a proper time to be celebrating, while others still have to do backbreaking work to earn a meagre wage. So they just do their jobs, and then, at the end of the day Evie will give her gift and they can toast to their birthday in private.

* * *

Patience has never been something Jacob is good at. As a child he could never sit still, as opposed to his twin sister. He is a man of action. So right now the fact that Evie is late of all things, makes him very impatient. This is not his idea of celebrating their birthday. Back in Crawley he would have swapped gifts with his sister and then go out with his friends. Instead he's waiting in the cold, misty afternoon to meet up with another one of Green's shady contacts, and acting like it's just a normal work day. By the time Evie finally shows up almost an hour later his mood has worsened considerably.

"You're late."

Evie looks confused by his blunt greeting for a moment, then pulls out her pocket watch and glances at it.

"No, I'm not."

Jacob can feel the hair rising on the back of his neck. Sometimes it's like they can never agree on anything and especially today that annoys him to no end.

"The guy's note said four o'clock." He says, not in the mood to play games. He's confident that for once he's right and that Evie has made a mistake. But the look his sister gives him, tells him that he may have overlooked something yet. Evie fumbles in her pocket and pulls out a crumpled piece of paper. The mysterious note Green gave them, that comes from the informant, telling them when and where to meet. She shows it to him.

"See?" Jacob says, "It says four."

Evie rolls her eyes, "That's a five, Jacob."

He hates it when she's using that tone on him like that. Like he's a child that constantly needs correction. He grabs the paper from her hands and studies it again.

"That's not a five."

Evie sighs at his stubbornness.

"If that's not a five, how do you explain that you haven't seen anyone that looks like our informant yet?"

As much as he hates to admit it, Evie's logic sounds convincing. He hasn't seen anyone even remotely looking like an informant. His second sight has made sure of that...time to admit his mistake, again.

"Alright, so it's a five. I've been standing here a bloody hour for nothing, on my birthday." He casts a look around, "So where is he?"

They both look around, scanning the area. There's a marketplace right next to the alley where they are standing, but they can't spot any person out of the ordinary. After waiting another twenty minutes, Jacob has run out of the little patience he still had left.

"You know what?" he says, turning to Evie, "Sod it. Let's just go home."

He can see that although she's hesitant, she wants to leave too. It's cold and wet and they both are becoming chilled to the bones. The merchants are just starting to pack up their wares and with any luck they can still get some food and enjoy their evening. So he turns around to walk away, as some guy no older than themselves bumps into him, his face concealed by his cap.

Since their first day in London, Jacob has learned a lot about all sorts of thieves and this time he recognises the guy immediately as a pick pocket.

"Oi!" he cries and he tries to catch him by the sleeve. But as soon as the word leaves his mouth the thief breaks into a sprint. Jacob doesn't hesitate for a second before sprinting after him. Behind him he can hear his sister call his name and then the sound of her boots on the stone as she follows him.

The thief is fast, even for him and the chase leads them away from the marketplace and through several alley's. It's becoming dusk already and the thief is not gifted with the sharp eyes they posses and he makes several missteps, so that Jacob can catch up to him. With a grunt he throws himself forward and tackles the thief, his body slamming into him and then the ground. Still breathing heavily from their chase, he gets up and hauls the thief up with him. Evie has caught up with as well.

"Alright," Jacob says, "hand me my money."

The thief looks up at him and grins awkwardly.

"I didn't take nothin', sir." He says and his voice sounds familiar to Jacob.

Evie has noticed as well, because she steps closer and pulls the cap of the thief's head. It's Oscar No-Name, one of the Clinkers who didn't hesitate for a second to take up the name of the Rooks and join the twins in their fight against injustice.

"Oscar?" she says surprised.

The young Rook looks from Jacob to Evie, visibly nervous.

"It wasn't my idea, Miss Evie. I swear!"

His words make no sense to Jacob, "What the hell are you talking about?" he demands.

But Oscar turns around and before the twins can blink he runs off and disappeared into another shady alley. For a moment they just stand there, not really comprehending what has just transpired.

As Jacob looks around to find out where they actually are he only sees unfamiliar surroundings. They are in an alley somewhere in Whitechapel and the only thing visible in the thickening mist is the light coming from the door opening of a pub.

"Well, that was odd." Evie says and this time Jacob couldn't agree more with his sister. What wasn't Oscar's idea? They are being set up, he's sure of it. He just doesn't know how and when.

And he's not in the mood to find out. He gestures to the pub entrance, "Let's get something to eat there and get back to the train."

Evie nods, but he knows she can't let the incident go yet. She can dwell on it al she wants, he's stalking over to the pub, ready to forget all about this day.

As soon as they set foot inside they are met by a chorus of happy birthdays. Dumbstruck Jacob looks around, seeing several of the Rooks including Oscar, Henry Green, Clara and even Aleck. Next to him Evie is looking just as surprised as he is. How did they know? The only time they mentioned their birthday was when they agreed on meeting up to celebrate in private.

After the twins have accepted all the congratulations and handshakes of their friends, the answer presents itself. In the form of a little girl with braids. Clara is eager to explain all the tactics she used to spy on them, and even Evie is impressed with the girl's cunningness.

For Jacob everything is right in the world again. What's better than celebrating his twenty first birthday with all the people that are most important to him right now? So he wastes no time in getting his favourite pint and throwing his feet up on a table. Even Evie seems so be enjoying herself, chatting away with Aleck and Green, nursing a beer of her own.

Time passes and it doesn't take long before tall tales are being swapped between Jacob and his Rooks. They seem especially interested in his adventures and somehow it doesn't surprise him. He and Evie did turn up in London out the blue and took over leadership of the Rooks in a span of only days. Many of the Rooks don't know much about them.

While Jacob is in the middle of telling how he and Evie once snuck out of their home on their birthday to go to a party, his sister saunters over to their table and sits down next to him.

"Don't forget to tell them whose fault it was that father found out." she interjects, immediately recognising the story.

Several of the Rooks laugh and Jacob huffs.

"If I remember correctly, it was you who forgot to close the window after we snuck back in."

His eyes meet Evie's and he knows it's on now.

"As I remember it, it was you who didn't climb fast enough before that, so that father saw you pass the window of his study." she says.

They've always been competitive like all siblings, but being twins makes sure that they've always had that extra motivation to outshine each other and proof that they are not the same person. Right now seems an excellent moment to Jacob to proof once and for all that he's simply better at some things.

"I've always been the faster climber, Evie. You and I both know that." he says and this time Evie huffs.

"You may be able to run faster than I, but you're certainly not a faster climber."

Around them it has fallen quiet as most of the occupants of the room are following the conversation with obvious interest. Though Green and Aleck are looking a bit uncomfortable, still not quite used to the constant, and most of the time, good-natured bickering between the twins.

Jacob puts down his pint and sits up. This conversation has just become serious business. It's time for a challenge.

"Alright." he says, looking around the room, "Let's settle this once and for all, right now. Seeing that we have witnesses this time to decide who's really the faster climber."

Both Aleck and Henry shake their heads.

"I don't want any part in this." Henry says and Aleck nods in agreement.

Jacob chuckles. Typical of them to retreat at a tactical moment. Clara however, does not retreat.

'Let's have a race!" she cries excitingly, "I will be the referee."

The idea is immediately jeered on by the Rooks, so Jacob looks at his sister. Will she accept? Seeing the grin pulling on the corner of her mouth he knows she will.

"Deal." she says, holding out her hand.

He gets up a shakes it, "Deal." then he turns to Clara, "What are the rules, Miss O'Dea?"

* * *

Five minutes later they are standing outside, in the middle of a wide street, lined on both sides with houses. At the end of the street, about 200 yards away, is a church barely visible through the mist. The rules Clara has set for them are simple. Each of the twins are to take one side of the street, and the first one to reach the top of the church is the winner. They are allowed to use their rope launcher, but not to hinder each other.

Jacob is rubbing his hands in anticipation. This will not be an easy challenge, but he's confident he can win. He just needs to stay focused and pay attention to where's he going to place his feet. Next to him Evie is adjusting her gauntlet, looking as calm as ever. When she looks up at him she grins.

"May the best win." she says and he grins back, "Yes, I will."

They take up their places on both sides of Clara and Jacob takes of his top hat, handing it to Oscar for safekeeping. Around them the Rooks have gathered and are clapping and shouting, cheering them on. Even Green and Aleck have reluctantly come outside to witness the race.

As soon as Clara shouts 'Go!' the twins are off. Jacob wastes no time in firing his rope launcher, and scales the wall of the closest house, the wind pulling on his hair. He pulls himself up over the roof edge, sprinting to the next house dodging chimney's and pipes as he goes. From the corner of his eye he can barely make out the shape of his sister on the other side of the street. She's slightly ahead of him, but that's only because her lesser weight makes it faster for her to use the rope launcher. On the flat rooftops he has the advantage. He jumps over a small gap between two houses, conscious where he places his feet, then accelerates again to use his speed to bridge the next gap, that's considerably larger.

As he jumps, he feels weightless for a second, before he slams into the wall and barely manages to get a handhold. The building is higher than the others and he has to climb up a few feet before he can pull himself up over the ledge.

Ahead Jacob can see the church becoming more visible, and he's already scanning the building for a spot to anchor his rope launcher. Now to win this little race.

As he heads full speed for the last edge of the row of houses, he sees to his left that he's now ahead of Evie. Good. He needs that lead to make sure he reaches the roof of the church first with his rope launcher.

As he pushes of and the only thing between him and the church is a thin line of wire, he laughs. How he loves the thrill of danger and living on the edge. He wouldn't trade this feeling for anything else in the world.

On his left Evie has fired her rope launcher as well, and she she's gaining on him. The race isn't won yet.

But just as he wants to throw his weight forward to accelerate, he sees Evie's line snap. His heart stops for a second as he watches his sister fall.

"EVIE!"

Before his brain can catch up with his actions he lets go of his own line and fires a new one straight into her path. Time seems to slow as he desperately tries to reach his sister in time. Then he manages to grab Evie by her wrist, and for a second they just hang there, not really comprehending what just happened. They look at each other, the shock still clear on their faces, before they both chuckle nervously. That was a close call.

But they are not out of danger yet, for the wire can't handle the weight of the both of them and the brick behind them, where the line is anchored, starts to come loose. Jacob can barely manage a 'hold on!' before it comes loose entirely and they start falling again. The only thing he can do, while keeping an iron grip on the line with one hand and his sister's arm with the other, is steer them in the direction of some bushes in the hope to soften their landing a bit.

Their momentum from swinging with the line reduces the distance they fall to the ground, but their landing is still far from comfortable. They slam into the church wall before ending up in a heap in some rather prickly bushes beneath a window. There they lie stay for a while, just trying to catch their breath. Jacob's whole body hurts, but it doesn't feel like anything more serious than just bumps and bruises. And maybe a concussion from where his head hit the wall. His sister is not as lucky, judging by her groan of pain.

"Evie?" he says, gently untangling his limbs from hers, "Are you alright?"

Evie still looks dazed as she tries to sit up, but as far as he can tell she's not in any life threatening danger.

"I think I sprained my ankle." she says, "But nothing serious."

They look at each other for a moment, and then Jacob pulls her close and embraces her. He just came to close to losing his twin. Evie returns it, but gently as not to jar their bruised bodies any further.

"Don't do anything stupid like that ever again." Jacob says as they break apart, and they laugh awkwardly.

"This whole race was your stupid idea to begin with." Evie returns, but they don't have the energy left to continue fighting.

So he gets up and brushes off the leafs from his clothes before holding out his hand to Evie to help her up. She takes it and carefully tests if she can put any weight on her ankle, but the cringe of pain tells him enough.

"Don't make it worse." he says and lifts her up in his arms easily.

Evie huffs, humiliated by the fact that she needs to be carried, but throws her arm around his neck anyway.

Apparently their spectators are wondering what's taking them so long, because just as Jacob has carries his sister out of the church's garden they are met by Clara and some of the Rooks. As Clara spots them she immediately runs over to them.

"What happened?" she asks, her voice full of worry as sees how Evie is being carried.

"I'm fine, Clara." Evie says, "Just a little accident."

Jacob nods, "She'll be okay, nothing serious." then he sighs, "But now we still don't know who's the fastest climber."

* * *

"I think this has been the weirdest birthday we've ever had." Jacob notices dryly from the couch in their train, about an hour later.

Evie is sitting next to him, her now bandaged ankle draped over her brother's lap. She couldn't agree more. But even though she has ended up immobile for at least a few days, it's hasn't really put a dent in her good mood. All in all it was a really nice thought of their new friends to surprise them. She'd never expected that. And before this day is coming to an end, there is still one more thing they need to do, now that they have a little privacy.

"But also one of the most memorable." Evie says, "And it's not over yet. I still have a gift for you."

She gestures to the desk across from them, "You'll have to get it yourself, I'm afraid. It's in the bottom drawer."

Gently Jacob lifts her foot of his knees, before getting up and searching though the mentioned drawer. He turns around again with a package wrapped in brown paper in his hands, a curious look on his face.

"Feels heavy." he says, inspecting it from a sides.

"Open it." Evie urges.

Carefully he pulls the paper off, to reveal a beautifully made knife, with a hand carved hilt. He turns it over in his hands and takes in a breath as he sees his own initials carved into it. From his expression Evie can tell that he's already in love with it.

"It's beautiful." he says, wonder in his voice, "How did you manage this?"

"I have my ways."

With more care than Evie thought Jacob has in him he puts the knife down, and sits down next to her again. Then he reaches into his pocket.

"I have a gift for you as well," he says and pulls out a small jewellery box, handing it to her.

With a curious look, Evie takes it. She not much of a jewellery person and Jacob knows that, so she wonders what's in the box. She opens it, and inside is a silver necklace, with a pendant in the form of a small bird that she recognises somehow. She can see it's not new, but it is carefully cleaned. She looks up a Jacob questioningly.

"I know it's not something you would pick out yourself," he starts, "but that is a necklace that Edward Kenway had made his daughter."

At first Evie doesn't believe him, but as she looks closer at the pendant, she now recognises it as a little jackdaw. Her mouth falls open in amazement.

"But how? Where..?"

Jacobs laughs at her stuttering, "Let's just say that I was extremely lucky to come across it."

"I think this it most incredible birthday gift you've ever given me." she says, as she puts the necklace on. Then she leans over to her brother and kisses him on the cheek, "Happy birthday, dear brother."

Jacob puts an arm around her shoulder and pulls her close, "Happy birthday, dear sister."


	4. Of Nightmares and Warm Milk

At first there's darkness. All encompassing, stifling darkness that makes it hard to breathe. Then it changes to a darkness that is still everywhere but no longer stifling. It's more akin to emptiness. And that scares Jacob all the more. He tries to move, to walk away from the empty feeling that threatens to overwhelm him but his feet refuse to carry him. It is as if everything is moving towards him instead of the other way around.

From the darkness up ahead a building takes shape. It seems out of place but with a shock Jacob recognises it. It's an old farmhouse that will be forever branded in his memory. It's the place where he took the first steps on his road as an assassin.

The house takes more solid shapes and seem to come closer to him, and with all his willpower Jacob tries to get away from it to no avail. He doesn't want to relive this memory, it's too painful.

But he has no choice but to let it all wash over him. He still can't move. He closes his eyes in an attempt to escape the memory but when he opens them again he is now inside the house. Everything looks distorted and unfocused except for a single piece of furniture. But Jacob refuses to look at it. He knows what he will see if he looks at it.

Unwillingly his eyes are drawn anyway to the weathered old armchair in front of him. And right there is what he feared. The cold, lifeless body of the farmer who owned the house, slouched in the chair. His mouth is hanging open, blood still leaking from it as well as from a hole in his chest. The wound is ragged and not made cleanly. Jacob tries to take a step back, away from the scene in front of him.

He killed the man, he knows. His first kill.

His feet finally seem to be willing to move, but as he turns around he is faced by a little girl. He startles, at the sight of her. Too young to have witnessed such a scene.

It's all his fault. He wasn't patient enough. Didn't take enough time to scout the place, and make sure he was alone. He was rash. As he still is in way.

He can't bear the accusing look the little girl is giving him. He killed her father. Her scumbag father, but still.

As he turns around again he realizes with a shock that the old armchair is now empty. He looks around looking for answers but nothing comes to him.

And then, when he least sees it coming, two pale, cold hands come for him and grab him by his neck. As the life is being strangled out of him he looks right into the dead farmer's eyes with the haunting laughter of the little girl in the background.

* * *

With a shock Jacob shoots upright in his make shift bed, breathing hard. His heart is beating loudly in his chest and he's covered in sweat. His hands go unconsciously to his neck, checking for strangle marks that he half expects to be there. There is nothing. It was all a dream.

It takes him a moment to get his ragged breathing under control, and shake of the last tangles of sleep. He hasn't had a nightmare like this in a long time.

The small confines of the study seem too pressing al of a sudden, and he feels an urge to go out and clear his mind. He untangles his feet from his bed sheets and gets of his couch.

The roof of the train, he discovers, is an excellent place to clear your mind. The train is not moving at the moment, since it's the middle of the night so it's quiet around him. Not a complete silence like in his dream, but a quietness that is calming. He lets his eyes go over the tall buildings that make up the horizon and let's his mind go completely blank.

Jacob doesn't remember how long he has been sitting on his own, only accompanied by a slight breeze, but he knows that it has been a while. His eyelids start to grow heavy again and his mind wanders back to his warm study, where the couch awaits him.

He's just starting to gather the energy to get up as he's suddenly aware of another presence on the roof. As he glances to his left, he sees to his surprise that it's Evie. He can barely make her out in the dark, but he can see that his twin sister in her nightclothes as well, her dark hair hanging loose. Without a sound she makes her way across the roof and sits down next to him, her knees drawn up to her chest.

He acknowledges her with a nod and for a while they don't speak. Jacob doesn't need to explain to her why he's up here in the middle of the night. They both know. They don't need to speak. Not yet. After what seems like hours Evie speaks up, her voice a bit rough from not using for a while.

"What was it about?"

"The old farmer." he says, without adding any detail.

"I dreamed about the mill owner." Evie says as a response.

So they both dreamed about their first kill. Somehow it's comforting to know that even perfect Evie has her demons. That it's not another way in which he is spectacularly failing, like he sometimes feels beside her.

They sit a while longer, staring at the buildings in the distance, wondering how they are going to free all its inhabitants. How they are going to accomplish the immense task they set for themselves.

"Do you think we can do it?' Evie asks.

Not for the first time they are both thinking the same. It must have something to do with being twins.

"Of course," he says, "We just need time."

"And planning." Evie adds and Jacob snorts, receiving a mock angry glare.

"You and your planning." he says and bumps her with his shoulder.

"It's kept us alive more than once." Evie says trying to sound hurt by his words but failing.

They both know their strengths and weaknesses. They know they work best together.

"Come on." Evie says, getting to her feet and offering a hand to Jacob, "Enough heavy feelings for one night."

He grabs it and hosts himself up. Their hands have become quite cold, as it is quite chilly outside. In fact Jacob feels chilled to the bones. He suspects his sister doesn't feel much warmer.

"I think we need something warm." he says as they both make their way back inside the train, where it's nice and warm.

"What you mean to say is: 'Evie, can you make us something warm to drink?'' his sister says with a roll of her eyes.

"Well, I meant some brandy actually." Jacob shrugs.

"You're not going to drink alcohol in the middle of the night." Evie responds in a matter-of-fact tone, while steering him in the direction of the common room.

* * *

Ten minutes later they both have a steaming cup of warm milk in front of them.

"It feels like we're eight years old again." Jacob says, savouring the warmth now seeping into his bones, courtesy of his sister's skills.

"Hmm."

Her satisfied hum expresses exactly how he feels at the moment as well. The nightmare has already faded to the back of his mind and he feel his eyelids growing heavy again. They have some hours left till sunset, so there is enough time to get some more sleep.

So after a while they both go their separate ways again, Evie to her bedroom and Jacob back to his study. No more words are spoken. They don't need to. Their nightly encounter will not be mentioned again. It's just the ways things are. As he lays under the covers once again the nightmare is completely forgotten and sleep comes to him easily.


End file.
